The Little Girl Who Changed Everything
by sarahkinnz80
Summary: So the begining is the same up to the point where Derek meets Meredith's 3 yr old. How will having Layah change some of Derek and Meredith's  decisions? How does Meredith balance being a surgeon, mother and girlfriend? All major events are included!
1. Chapter 1

Background info: this is at the end of the very first episode of Grey's Anatomy after Katie Bryc's surgery.

Christina walks out the door and almost doesn't see Meredith but when she does she turns around. "That was a good surgery"

Sitting in the chair Meredith replies lazily, "yeah"

Seeing Meredith's appearance and the tiredness in her eyes she says, "you look like crap"

Meredith quipped back, "I look better than you"

Christina continues to banter with her "impossible" but then she sees a three year old with dirty blonde hair and amazing blue eyes running towards them yelling "mommy, mommy!"

Meredith immediately looks down the hall to see her three year old daughter Layah running towards her to her friend Sadie's dismay.

Christina asks the question even though she already knows the answer, "is that your daughter?"

By this time Meredith is helping her three year old leap into her lap for a hug. " yep this is Layah, sweety can you say hi to Christina?"

Layah looks as though she just noticed Christina and shyly says, "Hi Christina me layah."

Christina looks at Meredith with wide eyes then leaves with a good bye to the both of them.

Derek Shepard walks out the door completely oblivious until Meredith says, "That was amazing, you practice on cadavers, you observe and you think you know what it's going to feel like but that was just such a high I don't know why anybody does drugs."

Derek replies with a simple, "yeah" then he notices the adorable little girl in her arms and says, "Who's that?"

Meredith looks at layah who is sleeping on her solder to the time and answers, "oh this is Layah my three year old daughter"

Derek's eyes nearly burst out of his head before he asks, "Where was she when you and I had S-E-X?"

"She was staying with a friend while I got settled and did my first shift. I had to find a daycare then realized there was one here and enrolled her in it." Meredith replies nervously.

Layah wakes up due to the voices and looks at the man who is talking to her mother. "Mommy who that?"

Meredith looks at her daughter realizing she is awake and answers her, "Layah this is one of mommy's bosses Dr. Shepard can you say hi to him?"

Derek looks at the little girl with wondering eyes she looks so much like her mother, her patite build ther smile and her nose and her hair if they weren't so far apart in age he would think they're identical twins. What surprised him is the little girl walked up to him and demanded he kneel on his knees.

Layah stuck her hand out to him and said in a very adorable voice, "Hi Dr. Shepard me Layah Elizabeth grey me three years old." Once she shook his hand she proudly held out three fingers in his face to get the point across.

Meredith looked at the scene unraveling with huge shocked eyes Layah tended to be shy especially around men she didn't know. To shock her even more Derek told Layah that she could call him Derek and that she was a very pretty and smart girl.

Meredith let them talk for a minute before she told Layah that it was time to go. "Layah come on say good bye to Derek we have to get home and into bed for your fist day at the daycare here."

Layah yawned her little mouth going into an O shape and rubbing her eyes. "Kay mommy, bye Derek sees you tomorrow. Mommy wills you carry me, me tired?"

Meredith scooped her daughter into her arms turned to face Derek and said, "Good- by Dr. Shepard see you tomorrow." And with that she left down the hallway.

Derek replied, "Good-by Dr. Grey, good-by Layah see you both tomorrow." Then he left to inform Katie's parents of their success in surgery.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Telling Everybody

Meredith loves her little girl but she hates it when layah wakes up before the alarm clock goes off. Over the baby monitor she can hear Layah telling her to wake up and get her out of her bed. "Mommy gets up! I want out! My tummy growlin' so me hunggy! Mommy hurry up!"

Meredith says over the monitor "Give mommy a sec sweetie I'll be their soon." Meredith tears the sheets off her bed and walks to the bedroom across the hall to her daughter's surgery themed room. Layah was only three but has decided that she wants to be a surgeon like he mom and grandma and her mom gave her, her old anatomy Jane doll that she loves. She demanded that her room be filled with surgery like things. For example all the furniture is metal with white and blue sheets, and she has posters and pictures of multiple surgeries on her wall. Also she has a strip of wall paper that is in the middle of the wall and goes on all four walls of surgical instruments. She also has several newspaper clippings of medical breakthroughs. Lastly her book and movie shelves only have surgical books and movies on them instead of reading Layah to bed with Cinderella she reads her to bed with surgery books. Meredith has tried to let her daughter watch regular television or read regular books but she has no interest. All her toys consist of doctor dress up things. It worries Meredith but she lets her daughter be happy.

Layah giggles at the sight of her mother's figure. "Mommy you hair messy and you cloths messy!"

Meredith sighs as she takes her happy three year olds gates down. Layah no longer sleeps in a crib; she sleeps in a big girl bed with safety rails that her daughter has yet to figure out. "Alright sweetie lets get you dressed for your first day at the day care, what do you want to wear?"

Meredith knew she was going to get this answer since it is Layah's favorite outfit. "Me wear puple dress wit puple headband and shoes wit white stalking!"

Meredith smiled at Layah's enthusiasm. " okay sweetie, arms up okay now give me your right foot , there we go no sit down sweetie one shoe and two shoe. Okay good girl now hand mommy the brush okay and now for the head band perfect you look beautiful sweetie!"

Layah smiled a triumphant smile at her mother and spun in circles like a ballerina giggling madly as the world spun around her in a blur of colors.

Meredith still laughing with her daughter put her hand out to stop her and said, "Come on Layah grab a book to sit in the bathroom while mommy takes a shower okay sweetie."

Layah grabbed a book with one hand and held her mother's hand in her with the other as they walked to the bathroom.

Meredith poured her daughter and herself a bowl of cereal and some milk with orange juice on the side. "So Layah would it be alright if we had a couple people living with us?"

Layah finished chewing her cereal before looking at her mother. "Why mommy?"

Meredith hesitated, her daughter was only three but she could read at a fifth grade level and understand medical talk and even answers about medicine. But would she understand that they needed the money to pay for Elise's nursing home? She decided to give it a try. "Well, sweetie you know how grandma is living at that nice house with the people who help her try to remember?" she waited for layah to shake her head yes then continued. "Well I cannot keep her there unless I pay for it so I need people to think they are paying to live here when they are paying to help her. And because we have two empty rooms and this big old house and nobody in it besides us so we would get some company. So what so you say Layah is it okay with you?"


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: finding out and moving in

Meredith walked into the intern locker room and put up a flyer for roommates on the bulletin board. Immediately Izzie Stevens and George O'Malley came up to her. "Meredith I wanna move in with you I need a place to live please!"

"Meredith my mom irons my scrubs I need to get out of there!" says George with a pleading voice.

Meredith rolls her eyes at the two interns and replies, "we work together for 100 hours you want to live together too?"

Izzie and George immediately replied together, "Yes!"

"ugh do you guys mind kids?" replies Meredith walking down the hallway to meet Baily.

Izzie replies excitedly, "No why?"

George replies simply, "No"

Meredith hesitates but then decides that they're going to find out sometime anyway so, "well I have a three year old daughter Layah. Wanted to make sure you wouldn't change your mind or not like it."

Izzie's eyes get huge but then she recovers and says, "I don't mind at all, in fact I love kids so I still want to move in."

George asks shocked, "You have a daughter?" then he recovers and replies, "No I don't mind either."

Meredith looks relieved then says, "Okay fine you can move in."

Izzie and George smiled at each other and said, "Yay."

Meredith walked out of the daycare with her daughters hand in hers as Layah talked about her day anf the couple of friends she made. Then she spotted George and Izzie waiting at the door. "Okay layah this is George and this is Izzie they're going to move into the house with us. Can you say hi to them?"

Layah hid behind her mother to look at the strange faces then slowly stuck out her hand and shook both of theirs and gave a quiet "hi"

Meredith didn't let go of Layah's hand until they got to the car. "Okay so Izzie, George fallow me to the house then pick from the two rooms. Feel free to decorate and paint them however you want and when you move out just unpaint it and take everything that is yours with you. Okay?"

Meredith had just put Layah down after making mac n' cheese for everybody. She was checking up on Izzie and George to see how they were doing. "Hey Izzie how you doin'?"

Izzie was unpacking the last box the held her clothes. "Good Mer. Did layah fall asleep alright?"

Meredith smiled at her friends' easy manor of her daughter. "Yeah she's shy but she seemed to like you guys a lot. And helping unpack tired her out pretty quickly."

Izzie finished putting the last shirt onto a hanger then turned around and said with a smile, "she is adorable and really smart you are doing a fantastic job with her. And I don't know who her father is or anything but he must have had bad genes because everything she does and the way she acts and her looks are exactly like yours."

Meredith wasn't surprised by Izzie's comment she gets that a lot, "Yah well she's around only me all the time so she was bound to pick up my habits and for the looks it's almost like looking in a mirror that shrinks you." Meredith looks at her watch and decides she is just going to check up an George then go to bed.

"Hey George you done already?"

George is laying on his back reading a book but looks over the top of it and answers, "Yep didn't bring much it's not like we're gonna' be here that often what with the hospital owning us."

Meredith smiled at the room it was sort of messy but not too much and it somehow fit George's personality. "I guess you have a point their well I'm exhausted see you tomorrow morning George."

"Bye Mer, good night." Then George went back to his book.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Sick Little Girl

Meredith wakes up the next morning to see Izzie standing there above her bed. "George's room is bigger than mine."

Meredith screams out of surprise then gets up with a "Ugh!" She trips over one of Layah's toys in her room then gets up completely ignoring the debate that George and Izzie are having.

Izzie keeps on talking not realizing that Meredith is completely blocking her out. "I have more clothes I should have the bigger room."

George says, "I got here first."

Izzie quickly says, "Its Meredith's house she should decide."

George argues "My room is bigger by like 2 inches!"

Izzie rolls her eyes and replies "Yah but you have a bigger closet."

George then says, "So what I have a bigger closet why does everything have to be a competition."

Meredith is headed down the stairs to the laundry room to find dirty clothes that she can pretend are clean her two roommates are following her with their argument.

George replies "Put your stuff somewhere else."

Izzie says exasperated, "Everywhere else in filled with Meredith's mom's boxes."

George then turns his attention to Meredith and asks, "By the way when is your mom coming back to town Mer?" When he sees that she is not going to answer him he keeps on going. "because maybe we could put some stuff in storage."

Izzie then keeps up with that thought, "Or we could un- pack a few things you know throw pillow and paintings to make this place more homey." This part she couldn't help but hang on to, her roommates think her mother would have "homey" things in her house. Not one of those boxes have something remotely "homey" in them if they did she would surly have them out.

George replies, "Oh paintings would be nice."

Izzie then says, "You have all this amazing stuff packed away in boxes. Like I found this box with all of Meredith's mom's surgical tapes."

George looks awed then asks, "We should watch them, Meredith you wanna watch."

Meredith retreats to her daughter's room and slams the door in their faces then opens and takes Izzie's coffee and closing the door again to one have privacy and two get her daughter up. On the other side of the door she can here George asking if she wants privacy so she says, "yes."

Meredith walks over to Layah's bed and takes the gate off it is unusual for Layah to sleep this late although she was really tired yesterday. Layah is used to waking up at strange times due to her mother's job and she doesn't usually have any problems waking up and sleeping where ever her mom takes her. So when Layah was really warm and was not waking up easily she grew worried. She threw open the door and told George, "Go get me a thermometer"

Izzie looks at Meredith concerned and asks, "Why? Is Layah okay?"

Meredith replies while taking the thermometer from George and leaving the door open to go stick the thermometer in Layah's mouth. "No she is not okay." She is looking at the thermometer that says 104*, shows it to her friend and immediately begins to pack for the hospital because there is something really wrong. When Meredith is changing her very groggy but awake three year old she sees a bruise on the skin right over her spine it's an ugly dark purple and blue color she calls over her friends to have a look.

"Guys come over here and look at this."

Izzie and George come over and their mouths drop they both ask, "Did she fall recently?"

"No"

"Okay well are their anymore bruises?" asks George his doctor instincts kicking in.

"I don't know." Meredith takes everything off Layah except her underwear and to say she was shocked would be an understatement there were a mix of yellow and purple bruises everywhere ones that now Meredith is thinking about it have been multiplying every day.

Izzie stare fixedly on Layah and the many bruises. George's eyes keep on switching between mother and daughter. Layah now completely awake decides since nobody is talking to say "What's everybody lookin' at?"

Meredith snaps from her gaze at Layah and now realizes that her daughter has absolutely no idea what is going on. "Oh Layah, mommy, Izzie and George are just discussing something. But I have a question for you have been falling down a lot lately?"

Layah looks at her mother then the two other doctors in her room and says, "Ummm, no me not bein' clumsy."

"Well okay let's get you dressed so we can get to the hospital." Meredith put Layah in a pair of jeans with a flower design on the right leg at the bottom and a purple shirt with a pink flower in the middle. Then some white ankle socks and purple light up sneakers. Then Meredith grabbed Layah's brush and ran it through her hair and asks, "What do you want me to do with your hair Layah?"

"Um, how bout' a fench baid" replies Layah with big hopeful eyes and a smile.

Meredith smiles at her daughter trying to ignore the fact that something is very wrong with her. "Sure sweetie."

Layah turns around so her face is to the wall and kneels on her bed. Meredith kneels on the floor and takes some of her daughter's hair and parts it into three then starts French braiding. When Meredith finishes she takes a medical book from Layah's book case takes her hand and goes to take a shower. Layah sits on the floor reading the book and Izzie walks in. "Hi Layah what you reading?" Layah looks up at her and says, "Me reading bout' heart problems and how to fix em'." Izzie looks at her then hears Meredith say, "Izzie she knows how to read at a fifth grade level I find books about the body that are easier to read and understand and she reads them you can look and see if you think I'm lying." Izzie looks at the little girl on the floor and says, "Layah read that word to me."

Layah looks at the word and says, "Artirialsclorsis." Izzie looks from the book to layah and back and asks, "Mer, how did she learn to read like that? I mean I've heard of my baby can read but they couldn't teach a three year old to read a medical book."

Meredith just laughs as she grabs a towel and steps out of the shower and says, "well her mother is a surgeon and her grandmother is one of the most famous surgeons in the world and her father was a genius she was bound to be exceptional." Meredith went behind the changing curtain to change then walked out and took Layah's hand and led the way down stairs.

After breakfast and checking Layah's temperature which is now at 102* which is better but still worrisome and the 30 minute drive to the hospital Meredith walked up to Baily who conveniently enough was talking to Derek. "Dr. Baily I know it's a lot to ask and I promise I wouldn't if it wasn't an emergency but can you take a look at Layah when I woke her up this morning her temperature was 104* now it's at 102* and she has suspicious bruises everywhere as well as a nasty one on her back that is as big as a fist and is nasty blue, purple color."

Baily looks at Meredith then the little girl gripping her hand and says, "Grey I realixe that, that is worrisome but you can't get emotionally involved in this case so hand her over if you want to be on the case."

Meredith replies immediately, "Oh, well you see I can't be on her case anyways because she my daughter and not a patient and you're not allowed to treat family so um yah."

Layah decides that they need an icebreaker so let's go of Meredith's hand and walks over to baily's dumb struck form and says, "Layah Grey, three years old it's nice to meet you Dr. Baily, hi again Derek." Baily takes the outstretched hand then looks at Meredith, "Grey you have a daughter?"

Meredith nods and doesn't say anything. Derek bend down to Layah and says, "How you feeling Layah?"

"Okay a little tired and scared cause' mommy won't tell me what's wrong that I have to be a patient."

"Well there's no need to be scared because Dr. Baily is an excellent doctor and you are little so your body gets tired easily especially at 6:00 in the morning." Derek stand up and excuses himself Baily takes Layah to get a check up to see what's going on and Meredith goes to do scut per Baily's orders.


End file.
